Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 614 - 258: The Martial Artist

Chapter 614: Chapter 258: The Martial Artist

"Mrs. Lu, have I ever told you about the hypoxia resistance experiments with metal-based organisms?" Xiang Shan asked Lu Xuanyu’s wife.

Lu Xuanyu’s wife looked worried, but she shook her head nonetheless.

"We’ve done that experiment," Xiang Shan said, with his arms crossed. "The most commonly used mice in our company are the C57Th strain, and this inbred strain of mice, after metallization, is called C57Th/GO... Oh, if you don’t know what ’inbred’ means, think of it as a population that has stabilized after continuous inbreeding. These mice are almost clones of one another, with no rejection reactions whatsoever, allowing for random organ transplants."

"The C57Th mice and C57Th/GO mice only differ in the portion of genetic information artificially transferred. They share all the native genetic information of Earth."

"What do you think would happen if we put both mice in a hypoxic environment at the same time?"

Lu Xuanyu’s wife furrowed her brow: "Then... the metal-based organism would last a bit longer?"

Xiang Shan had always been advocating the superiority of Benchmark Man, so she guessed as much.

"Quite the opposite," Xiang Shan shrugged. "While the carbon-based mouse was still frantically hitting the cage, the metal-based mouse had already stopped moving. A higher body temperature requires more energy to maintain, naturally needing more oxygen."

Lu Xuanyu’s wife furrowed her brows: "Ah?"

"But that metal-based mouse had just entered a state of suspended animation. Its hypoxia-inducible factors were recoded, and the process of activation is not completely the same as in native organisms, causing less damage to the nervous system. Moreover, metal-based organisms have stronger cellular resistance to damage on a cellular level."

"Ah, speaking of ’hypoxia-inducible factors’, weren’t they the subject of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine? Normally, they act to reduce cellular consumption in hypoxic environments. But it seems they can cause damage in specialized cells like neurons."

"It’s actually quite understandable. Metal-based organisms, while retaining aerobic respiration, also have a mechanism for ’directly drawing electric field energy.’ These kinds of metal-based organisms may face situations where ’there is no oxygen, and life must be sustained entirely by electric field energy.’

"Just as yeast can freely switch between aerobic and anaerobic respiration, metal-based organisms may also have the ability to switch between ’aerobic respiration chemical energy’ and ’electrical energy.’

"Tsk, it seems I’ve gone off-topic again. In any case, Benchmark Man possesses many incredible abilities such as ’resistance to mechanical injury’ and ’direct suspended animation in case of hypoxia.’ Even a craniotomy poses no danger to the current Mr. Lu."

Lu Xuanyu’s wife furrowed her brow: "I know... I just can’t help but worry."

"There’s nothing to worry about," Xiang Shan said, lifting his gaze to check the time on his smart glasses: "You’ll be able to see him very soon."

Just then, the operating room’s indicator light went off.

Lu Xuanyu’s wife ran over, but when the door opened, a wave of heat hit her. She involuntarily stepped back two paces and zipped up her "air-conditioned suit" to near her nose.

After a while, Lu Xuanyu was wheeled out. Tao Enhai followed, his skin and pupil colors having undergone subtle changes, and he was unguarded in the high-temperature operating room.

Clearly, he had become a Benchmark Man as well.

Tao Enhai had just changed out of his surgical gown. He smiled at Lu Xuanyu’s wife and said, "The surgery was very successful."

Lu Xuanyu’s wife finally patted her chest in relief. Although Mr. Xiang had explained many complex theories to her just now, nothing was more reassuring than these words.

Xiang Shan, with his hands clasped behind his back, followed Lu Xuanyu’s stretcher and greeted, "Mr. Lu, how are you feeling?"

"Strange," said Lu Xuanyu.

Lu Xuanyu’s wife was startled and hurriedly caught up, asking, "Didn’t you have any anesthesia?"

"I did, but the power seems to last only for a little while..." Lu Xuanyu said, "They were even talking to me and showing me videos."

Lu Xuanyu’s wife looked at Xiang Shan in surprise. Xiang Shan grinned, "Everyone who does surgery knows that if doctors and nurses are joking and laughing on the operating table, it means the condition is common and the surgery simple. If the doctors are all serious, that’s a major issue. This kind of minor surgery, where electrodes are just placed on the surface of the brain without cutting into nerves, is really easy."

"Doesn’t it hurt?" Mrs. Lu stared at the bandages wrapped around Lu Xuanyu’s head.

"It’s okay... the anesthesia was strong at first... probably just during that little while when they opened up my skull..."

Xiang Shan explained, "You didn’t go to sleep. This time there was no general anesthesia. Afterward, talking to you while performing the surgery was also to ensure the electrodes weren’t pressing on your brain, causing adverse reactions."

Lu Xuanyu looked odd: "I didn’t go to sleep... but my skull was opened up..."

"Modern anesthesia is like that. Only a small part of your brain was numbed at that time," Xiang Shan said with a smile: "Remember to do today’s cognitive test tonight. We’ll talk about the projects you’ll be involved in next tomorrow."

Hearing Xiang Shan’s words, Lu Xuanyu once again fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up in the evening, Lu Xuanyu just ate something casually, still feeling a bit of pain in his head. After completing the cognitive test, he fell asleep again.

The next day, Xiang Shan brought another person with him.

"Hey Mr. Lu, how was your rest?" Xiang Shan patted the shoulder of the person next to him: "Let me introduce you to a new friend. Chen Feng, Senior Brother Chen, Chen... whatever you call him is fine. He’s from the university next to my alma mater."

"Your alma mater’s neighbor... Ah."

People of the Republic are well aware of which university Xiang Shan attended. Xiang Shan himself is a world-class scientist and the most successful businessman in the country, a self-made wealthy first-generation individual, a close friend of ’the only legend’ in the current academic world, the epitome of ’academic’ detachment and ’wealthy’ success with a legendary status.

Tsinghua University certainly doesn’t mind flaunting this connection when admitting students.

As for the neighbor of Tsinghua, that would have to be the only other university on par with it.

Lu Xuanyu thought to himself: It’s just Peking University, why beat around the bush?

"Senior Brother Chen started his career with research on visual cognition. Now he’s studying ’changes in high-level cognitive activities during complex procedural actions’ at our company. The Prosthetic Body wouldn’t have moved without his work."

"Of course, Senior Brother Chen has another identity—he is a member of the Peking University Martial Arts Association, a martial artist! You’ll definitely have a lot to talk about."

Chen Feng clasped Lu Xuanyu’s hand, his eyes shining: "Mr. Lu, I’ve long admired your name."